How 'Desperation Pies' Became Popular During The Great Depression
NEWS
By ILENE V. SMITH
Although it may be hard to imagine pies without their namesake ingredient, such as an apple pie without apples, desperate times call for desperate measures in times of scarcity.
During times such as the Great Depression and World War II, the high cost of fresh ingredients and rationing made it necessary to make substitutions when making pies.
These became known as desperation (or "make-do") pies — these range from mock apple pies that use salted crackers instead of apples to the molasses-based Shoofly pie.
